Graf Breezes to 50th Straight Victory in Singles Competition

TOKYO — Steffi Graf extended her singles winning streak to 50 today by breezing past Soviet Larisa Savchenko 6-0, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Tennis Tournament.

The 20-year-old West German, the world’s top-ranked women’s player, needed just 51 minutes to beat Savchenko, ranked 23rd.

“On this surface it could have been a much closer match because she usually has a big serve,” Graf said. “But she made simple mistakes, and I was returning well.”

Graf is to meet Manuela Maleeva of Switzerland in the semifinals Saturday. Maleeva, ranked eighth in the world, beat Brenda Schultz of The Netherlands, 6-2, 6-0.

In another quarterfinal match, second-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain downed American Gigi Fernandez 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.